Your EM of 3 March 2003 was considered by Sub-Committee D at their meeting on 21 May. We note that the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee has recommended this dossier for debate in Standing Committee C and we endorse their reasons for doing so.

  We gather from the Food Standards Agency that a Common Position is unlikely to be sought before mid-2004. That being so, we propose to maintain the scrutiny reserve until the results of the FSA's current consultation exercise and a fuller RIA, in place of the present initial one, are available.

  Doubtless you will alert us in good time if there is any possibility of the proposals going forward earlier, eg for political agreement.

3 June 2003